


Larger Than Love Bites

by KnifeBinaryPrince



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Jurassic World Fusion, Angst, Blood, Dinosaurs, Fluff, Jurassic World AU, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Scars, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2018-10-12 04:32:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10482138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KnifeBinaryPrince/pseuds/KnifeBinaryPrince
Summary: That one Jurassic World Au no one asked for but needed anyway.





	1. Late Night Call

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this in my wip for months and I'm finally posting. I have 2 chapters of it done and a third one on the way to being finished so well see if I post all that I have done in one sitting or just post it weekly.
> 
> Ages For The Characters
> 
> Shiro - 28  
> Allura - 26  
> Lance- 20  
> Keith - 20  
> Hunk - 20  
> Shay - 20  
> Pidge- 17  
> Coran- 40's-50's
> 
> Please note the characters being aged up is not used for shipping purposes nor will they be used in sexually explicit scenes at all whatsoever.
> 
> Miss me with that gross shit
> 
> This is just a fic about pining boys and dinosaurs.

_Snarling._

_Labored breathing._

_Inhuman growls_

_Razor sharp claws cutting through flesh like paper._

_Blood._

_God there was so much blood._

Lance sat up quickly, a cold sheen of sweat glistening on his skin, room dark and silent except for his heavy breathing. The only light coming from the slits in his window’s blinds, bathing his skin and bed in little slivers of moonlight that curved and stretched to grow distorted as it traveled over the uneven surfaces.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart, scars burning along his back and down his legs although that was nothing new. He ran a hand through his hair, knowing early on that sleep wouldn’t come again for awhile after the usual nightmares had passed.

Lance looked towards his alarm clock, the red digital numbers glowing faintly, informing him of his unwanted three in the morning wake up call. Deciding he wasn’t going to get anymore sleep for the night Lance peeled the sweat soaked blanket from his body, cringing at the sticky feel, before gingerly swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. Feet fit snuggly into the fuzzy blue cat slippers his little sister Annaliese had gotten for him, and he slowly stood up to shuffle to the door.

He opened it to a desolate dark hallway, framed family photos lining the walls as he walked the familiar route to the kitchen; the scars along the back of his legs protesting against the once comfortable movement with a searing vengeance.

Deciding his sleep schedule was already fucked Lance grabbed a can of strawberry soda and a small plate of his grandmother’s homemade cookies before heading back to bed.

As he placed his snacks on the bedside table he noticed his phone light blinking, signaling a missed call.

“Who the hell is calling this late?”

Lance fully sat himself on the bed, mindful of the ever present burning sensation that had since then dulled into somewhat of a mild annoyance along his back and leg.

Swiping the screen to the menu he looked at the phone number, his hand freezing over the call back button as he actually registered who it belonged to.

Allura.

Or more specifically, Allura's _work number._

At that moment he couldn’t decide which was worse.

He worried his lip between his teeth as he thought about whether or not he should call back. On one hand she was a really good friend of his, on the other they hadn’t really had a decent conversation since the incident.

During his time in the hospital Allura had dropped by a few times, the time in between each visit spaced out a lot longer than the last. He couldn’t blame her, she had a park to run after all. But it wouldn’t have hurt to at least been able to hang out once in awhile when he finally got the all clear to go home.

His decision was made as his finger pressed on the call back option, bringing the phone up to his ear as he waited for Allura to answer. He chewed absentmindedly on his thumbnail, leaning back against the head board of his bed.

After the third ring a tired, feminine voice answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey Allura, been awhile.”

Lance heard the rustling of sheets, like someone sitting up before she answered him again, voice and tone sounding more awake than it had been a minute ago.

“I…I honestly wasn’t expecting you to call back or even answer for that matter.”

Lance shrugged, knowing full well she couldn’t see, “I was awake so it seemed like a good time.”

“Yes, because three in the morning is a wonderful time to call someone.”

“As if you need any beauty sleep princess, I bet you wake up flawless, lucky girl you.”

“How many did you woo with that line?”

“Enough to know it works.”

Lance smiled as he heard Allura’s light laugh from the other end of the phone, finding it shockingly easy to get back into the motions quite easily with her.

“Don’t get me wrong I feel absolutely blessed to talk to you princess but what’s the reason for your calls?”

“What? A girl can’t check on her old friend?”

“Not with her work number no.” Lance remarked, grabbing a cookie from the plate and taking a bite into the soft baked, heavenly bout of sweetness.

He heard her sigh, hearing the sheets rustle again as she got herself situated, preparing to tell him whatever it was she had to say.  
“We’ve recently received a new clutch of eggs.”

“When are you guys not? There’s always a new clutch every few months, you and I both know that.”

“It’s not your average clutch Lance.” Allura said, sounded exasperated and a little nervous. She was probably doing that thing where she bit her lip and twirled a piece of her silver hair, a nervous tick she said it was.

“How so?” He finished off his cookie and went to grab another, preparing to take a bite.

“It’s another raptor clutch.”

He paused, putting the cookie back down towards the plate.

“You’re telling me this why?”

He heard her sigh, a small brushing sound followed. She was probably running a hand through her silver locks.

“Look I know I haven’t been the best friend to you, especially in your time of need and God I regret not visiting you more while you were in the hospital okay, and I know what I’m about to ask of you may be more than you’re willing to give but-“

“Allura.” Lance interjected, interrupting her nervous rambles, “it's fine, you had a whole island to keep up and running no one blames you, especially me. Now just ask whatever it is you’re going to ask princess.”

She took a deep breath, relief evident as some guilt about her absence seemed to be lifted from her shoulders, causing her to sit up a little straighter, “I want you to come down to the island and train them.”

There was a pregnant pause, and Allura worried that Lance had maybe hung up without her hearing, but when she looked to check the call was still connected. She was startled back to attention when he spoke again.

“What makes you think this time will be any different from the first?”

At his question Allura perked up, not hearing an immediate denial was more than what she thought he was going to say, so far so good.

“The clutch has an estimated six weeks before the hatching day. Unlike the first clutch you’ll be able to bond with them before they’re born, strengthening the bond between the parent and young, or in this case you and the baby raptors. And you’ll have two weeks to imprint on them, let them know your voice and sound patterns. That way as soon as they’re born they'll know who to go to and look up to for guidance and food, and who to respond to during training sessions.”

Lance stayed silent as Allura explained her reasoning behind this whole idea, currently lost in his thoughts. His scars throbbed, the pain dulled to a faint reminder of what could and did go wrong the first time he practically raised a clutch.

"You can think this over if you need to Lance there's no rush." Allura blurted out, a bit nervous about Lance's silence during her whole spiel.

Her outburst seemed to break Lance out of his thoughts and with no hesitation he answered.

"I'll be on the next flight there tomorrow afternoon, assuming Pidge has been listening in on this entire conversation the whole time and is using the extra funds from the park's recreational profit to book a plane ticket."

There was a beat of silence.

"Your plane leaves at two in the afternoon, don't be late loser."

There was a click as the unknowingly third recipient hung off, leaving Allura to gape and Lance holding a hand to his mouth to stop the laughter from spilling out and waking his family members.

"Wha-what the hell was that?" Allura asked.

" Just Pidge being Pidge Allura, have a good night and see you tomorrow. And tell Shiro I said hi."

Allura just looked at the phone, replaying the last bit of the conversation in her head.

With a few more taps on the phone she contacted Shiro, who sounded more awake than she did at the current time.

"Did you know Pidge can apparently hack a private security phone line?" Allura said in way of a greeting.

Shiro answered without missing a beat, "They've been doing that since they were fourteen Allura."

"Pidge also ordered a plane ticket Shiro. A plane ticket. They're not even old enough to have a credit card."

He sighed, I'll talk with them tomorrow...why they order a plane ticket?"

"Lance is coming back to the island tomorrow, to help raise and train the new clutch of raptors the lab has."

"Is he ready to go through that again?"

"He sounds ready, but if I'm being honestly I'm not entirely sure." Allura confessed, a nagging feeling bothering her in the back of her mind. 


	2. Welcome Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ya boy's back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I went long enough without an update, plus I updated another fic of mine so I thought I would treat you guys to something extra.
> 
> The next chapter will feature the dinosaurs....maybe

Gold eyes peered from the trees, looking towards the fortified glass control box where the humans were usually present. There were none at this time, there was never any around this time, except for one. Her usual human, the one who smelled of metal and grief, something she could easily relate to. Her whole life she'd been surrounded by metal and grief, although this human seemed to make it bearable. He was a constant, the ever changing constant in her world where time seemed to stay as it was, unmoving and still.

This time, unlike the others, he was freely talking in that small, squeaky language that humans spoke, the kind that gave her headaches and left her in a bad mood, especially when the small ones made noise. His voice however was something different, deeper and softer, a lot lower in volume which she appreciated.

She paced throughout her enclosure, steps caving into the soft dirt from last night's rains. The trees and vegetation shook, puddles of water making ripples that went outwards from where she stood.

And still she found herself straining to listen...to understand. However hard she might she couldn't, and that is what frustrated her the most.

And it angered her so because ever since she could remember he had been there, before the smell of metal and grief had ever made its presence known. Always watching her, sometimes leaving, only to come back smelling of the smaller kind that barked down a ways from her home in the dark of night. But that was ages ago, now he only seemed to visit every few moons, and his speech was always spoken in quiet whispers and hard to hear volumes.

Today however, he sounded excited, speaking in rushed sounds and excited tones, speaking of friend, and visits, whatever those things were.

Lance.

Now that was a sound she knew. She hadn't seen that human in awhile, but she'd for sure wouldn't forget a human like that one. He'd always make sure to visit her, and it puzzled her when he'd coo at her like some of the bigger humans did to their smaller young when they would cry after she had let out a territorial roar. She wasn't a pup, but she couldn't really say she minded when those soft words would reach her.

And his voice was something different, forever changing tones and volumes, even going as far as to move his body with whatever he was saying.

He was fun to watch to say the least.

And from her human's tone and excitement she would say this Lance was visiting soon.

She couldn't wait.

***

Allura knocked on the door frame as the door hissed open, making sure that Shiro knew she was there before entering. He was a tad bit more jumpy since the incident.

"Hey Allura."

"Black seems excited, what were you two talking about?" She questioned, sidling up next to him as they viewed the dinosaur in question. The T-Rex was pacing her enclosure leisurely, little dips up and down of her head in tune with her steps as she did so. So either she was troubled or excited, and with her being the largest carnivorous thing on land in the park the former was immediately crossed out.

"Just telling her about the usual, although she seemed to perk up when I mentioned Lance." Shiro answered, watching the Rex closely.

"I'm amazed she recognized his name, wouldn't think a Rex would be able to discern patterns of sounds as names to different things, especially people."

"She's smart, plus she's been around us long enough to pick up on it, it's not like she has anything else to do." Shiro said, looking thoughtfully towards the large carnivore.

Allura nodded, looking at the dinosaur for a few minutes before glancing at the clock.

"Lance should be arriving at the airport now, I should go see him to make sure he's alright." She spoke hurriedly, heels clicking as she turned and walked out to the jeep outside that would take her to the park's main building.

"So Lance is coming back and no one thought to tell me what time or give me a ride there? Rude."

Shiro whipped his head up so fast he was sure he'd be feeling the consequences later, looking to see Pidge sitting on one of the railings, munching on chips silently. There wasn't even a crunch as they put more of the fried deliciousness in their mouth.

"You ordered his ticket. And how-"

"When you live with a dog that likes to eat most of your food and snacks for you, you either learn to eat them quietly or you starve. Plus that's besides the point, I refuse to be anything but first in these matters of importance." Pidge said, blowing a stray, blonde curl from their face that thought today it was going to be long enough to get in their face.

Shiro rolled his eyes, "I was going to ask how long you were sitting there."

Pidge shrugged, "Since the part where you were telling Black how pretty that guy at the coffee shop was and how someone that tall and buff could be so gentle with the little girl that walked in looking for her parents. Honestly you're almost as bad as Keith is when he talks about Lance, it's absolutely sickening how far gone those two are for each other. They might as well get married on their first date."

Shiro laughed nodding along with them as they moved to stand beside him, munching silently on chips without making a sound. That was unsettling to say the least.

"Yeah, Keith needs to get his head in the game."

You're telling me, oh and that reminds me. Hunk needs your help in the main lobby, he found a lost kid while he and Shay were coming up from the east fence when they found him and he won't calm down. And since you're pretty much a dad they thought you could help them both with that since nothing else seems to be working."

Shiro sighed, pushing himself off from the railing to exit the room and make his way over to the lobby, Pidge in tow. He didn't even bother trying to dispute the dad comment. It was pretty hopeless at this point.

***

"Are you sure you're licensed to fly this thing Coran?" Lance said nervously, trying not to look down as the helicopter swayed to and fro in the air.

"Of course I an! I didn't spend twelve hours flying so I could just sit back and do nothing!"

"I thought the standard was thirty?!" Lance said over the noise of the rushing wind, feeling his stomach do flips stomachs shouldn't be able to do.

"It would have been if the instructor stayed in the helicopter for more than ten minutes."

"What?!"

***

Twenty long, terror filled minutes later found Lance back on land, legs nearly buckling under him. If it hasn't had been for the arms catching him he would have surely fell.

"Allura, light of my life, my very soul and reason for breathing, what have I done to warrant such a punishment from you that you would allow Coran to drive any vehicle let alone a helicopter with me in it?"

Allura laughed, face bright and smile gleaming as she helped Lance back up, letting him lean against her for support.

"I can assure you Lance, you have done nothing wrong, Coran just wanted to see his favorite employee and who am I to deny him the pleasure of your company?" She teased, waving at said pilot who was checking over the helicopter for any damages.

"Would you like to see the others or rest up in your room?" Allura asked, grabbing his luggage as they walked she couldn't help but notice how he seemed to limp a little, his steps carefully placed and a little slow.

"If it's not too much trouble I think I'd just like to get to bed, it's been a long flight."

"The flight from the mainland to here is only twenty minutes." Allura said puzzled.

"Let me rephrase, the ride from the mainland to here with Coran at the wheel was so stressful and terror inducing that I feel like I've aged about fifty years and need to sleep for a straight week and stay on the ground for six more until I can even look at a helicopter again."

Allura chuckled, "Whatever you say Lance, whatever you say."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So how is everyone?" He asked.

"Everyone's doing mostly fine, Pidge is always either holed up in the control center or down at the labs with Plaxum discussing conspiracy theories and new possible hybrids, Florona usually helps with sketching out the possibilities. And you wouldn't think Pidge would be interested in that sort of thing because you know, she doesn't much care for the outdoors but I'm not complaining. Especially if it keeps her from messing with the desktop backgrounds at work. I was content with my life before that damned dress showed up."

"The blue and black one?" Lance inquired.

"Precisely! Honestly how anyone could possibly say it was white and gold either has no eyes or was looking at something totally different!"

"How's Hunk?" Lance asked, steering her off topic before Allura could go on another rant.

"Hunk is fine, he's missing you though, and as much as Pidge doesn't want to admit it they are too. So is Shiro, it gets quite lonely without our resident goofball here to fill in the silence." She quipped, following Lance into the car that had been waiting for them.

Lance laughed, scratching nervously at the back of his neck as he got comfortable in the new smelling vehicle.

"And uh...how's the mullet doing?" Lance asked, averting his eyes so he seemed like he was more focused on the buildings and trees passing by in a blur of green outside.

Allura smiled, noticing the slight blush that crossed his face even when he tried to hide it so poorly.

"He's fine I guess, but I'm sure he'd be glad to have you back, he was worried for you the last time you saw him Lance."

"He was?"

"Of course, we all were."

The car ride fell into silence after that.

 


	3. New Day New Pains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The man doth pineth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how to write beginning/budding relationships. I only know how to do established ones so this is a bit out of my comfort zone.
> 
> I'm willing to try though.

Lance bid his goodbyes to Allura as she dropped him off at one of the beach front houses reserved just for him on one of the more vacant parts of the shore right in an inlet, promising her they would get to catch up properly later tonight if he felt up to it. Something to which Allura agreed, the car with her in it leaving to go back to manage the park. It was still pretty early in the afternoon so it would be getting pretty busy this time of day.

The house was spotless, clearly having been taken care of in his absence. His room was still as he left it though, untouched by the cleaning crew apparently, seeing as there was a thick coating of dust on the TV screen in the corner and the bed was as unmade as he had left it before.

He flopped down on the mattress, instantly regretting it when the pain in his back and leg flared up for a split second.

Yeah, not doing that again.

He laid there in silence, staring up at the familiar pale blue walls and white ceiling. The sunlight shined outside, brightening up the room as the sound of the waves and gentle wind blowing against the shutters outside lulled him into a light nap.

***

Allura arrived at the main lobby in record time, passing by excited kids and tired parents as she weaved her way through the crowd to reach the elevator.

Pressing the button to the third floor she waited, not imagining she would be bombarded by her employees as soon as the door opened.

But seeing as how Lance was due back she should've expected as much.

"Is Lance here?"

"Yeah where is he?"

Pidge and Hunk both awaited her answer eagerly, nearly buzzing out of their skin at the mere thought of seeing their best friend again.

"He went to his house to rest today, he just got back from an interesting flight with Coran."

"So we won't be seeing him for a couple more months then until he recovers?" Pidge quipped, earning a small round of chuckles from the employees sitting at the control desks behind them.

"Unfortunately." Allura said dramatically, eyes closed and a hand placed over her heart before getting serious again. "He just needs some rest is all and I'm sure he'll be up to see you both tomorrow."

"Ugh, him and his beauty sleep. He's such a diva."

"Oh hush Pidge, you know you love him." Allura chided.

"That's besides the point."

"Whatever you say Pigeon. That reminds me, Hunk there's another breach in the fence and they need you to check out the dinosaur's chip, Shay should already be on the site."

"Already on it." Hunk said. Waving a quick goodbye before leaving for his destination.

"And Pidge, I need you to monitor the fences for the rest of the day just to make sure we're on top of any new breaches." Allura ordered, Pidge giving a mock salute.

"Whatever you say Princess."

"You're just like Lance."

"Fight me."

"Exactly like Lance."

***

When Lance awoke it was to a new day at about twelve o' clock and it took him a moment to realize why he'd woken besides being asleep for roughly twenty four hours. A loud scratching sound, loud and repetitive sounding against one of the far walls.

He got up, wincing when the scars on his back protested the movement, the pain running down his legs as well. It took a moment of slow breathing before he was ready to stand, the sound never letting up as he did so.

He took a quick shower, the pain in his legs protesting against anything longer. Dressing was a little easier, the war material from the shower having relaxed his muscles considerably. No one really came around these parts nor were they allowed to besides employees and the occasional honored guest. There had been a few breaches in the fence though so he guessed it wasn't any human to worry about.

The journey to the front door after his shower was slow and careful, a hand on the wall to help balance him.

He arrived at the door a minute later, opening it to sunny skies and the low buzz of mosquitos just at the lake's edge. He was reminded of the reason why he came outside when the sound made itself known again from the right of the house.

He leaned over the porch, waving away curious bugs from his face as he located the sound.

An Ankylosaurus? No a Pawpawsaurus was scratching against the side of the house, leaning her full weight against it and consequently tearing the siding all to pieces.

"Hey there silly girl? What are you doing this far out?" Lance asked gently.

Said dinosaur lifted her head, taking a first look at him before resuming her previous motions.

"How'd you get this far out of the fence perimeter?" Lance questioned, going back into the house and returning minutes later with a few pieces of fruit.

The dinosaur stilled, smelling the sweet treats, her nostrils dilating and contracting as she sniffed the air, pupils getting big as she waddled heavily over. Steps sinking into the soft dirt, leaving deep prints trailing behind her.

"Want one beautiful?" Lance asked, holding out an apple at the stem.

He pulled his fingers back as her mouth closed over it, crunching on it heartily as pieces of the apple flew every which way. A happy rumble left her, the air buzzing with the sound as Lance gave her treat after treat, smiling when she ate them greedily.

Lance looked up when the sound of tires against gravel sounded just down the path from the house, a dark jeep coming into view.

His heart leapt in his throat when a familiar mullet came into view, the jeep stopping before it's driver hopped out, combat boots crunching under the gravel.

"Hey sharpshooter." Keith greeted.

"What's up samurai?" Lance threw back, grinning widely.

"See you met Miss Munchies."

Lance lifted an eyebrow in question.

"Pidge named her."

"Ah." Lance nodded, looking down as Miss Munchies, as her name was apparently, licked at his hand for more treats.

"She ruined the siding." Lance commented, watching Keith walk to the side of the house and curse under his breath.

"Shit sorry, she's always escaping from the fence's perimeter somehow and doing stuff like this. I'll get Rax and Rolo to come fix it when they can."

"That's fine, want some water or just something to drink?" Lance asked him, pointing a thumb towards the front door.

"Is it cold?" Keith questioned, dark eyes looking up at Lance, Miss Munchies laying a ways away on the grass, finding to fix herself for an afternoon nap.

"Is it cold? Is it cold he says," Lance walking into the house with Keith following close behind. "No, I leave it nice and hot for the guests like a good host and heathen." Lance muttered, Keith rolling his eyes.

"Okay smart ass-"

"The finest smart ass thank you very much."

"Whatever, just get me the cold beverage you dork." Keith chuckled, shoving his uninjured shoulder gently, mindful of his scars.

"Okay Mr. Bossy, sheesh patience yields focus and all that Yoda stuff your brother keeps saying."

"He gets most of his lines from Naruto."

Lance paused for a moment, "It's scary how I just don't question that in the slightest."

He tossed Keith a juice pouch, ignoring the other's quizzical look.

"Shiro stocked up on juice pouches in everyone's fridge since the last time you ran out and drank all his sports drinks in one go like it was nothing. How are you even alive after that?"

Keith shrugged, "I was thirsty."

"I bet, what's everyone been up to?"

"I thought Allura already filled you in?" Keith questioned, a puzzled look on his face.

"She filled me in on what she knows, which is totally different from what everyone else knows."

Keith nodded sipping silently from his juice pouch before answering.

"I think Pidge stole three compys from their exhibit and is more than likely training them in secret. I keep hearing little squeaks and calls from her desk sometimes and my sandwich has gone missing eighteen times these past few months."

Lance nodded, "Yeah, she named them Earl, Carl, and Roderick. They had a birthday a few weeks ago, she made them tiny hats, you want to see the picture?"

Keith shrugged, crossing over the few steps to stand next to Lance as he took out his phone from his pocket, inputting the password and going to his pictures.

Lance swallowed, nervous with Keith so close that he could feel the heat coming off his skin.

He scrolled through the album before finding the set of pictures he was looking for.

"Most of them are screen shots from snaps she sent me at like three in the morning." Lance added, pausing on one picture.

It was of Pidge, laying back on her bed nestled in the pillows, the compys snuggled either in the junction of her neck or in the fat of her arms, curled up and sleeping.

The caption read 'The only kids I'll ever have.'

Another one with a picture similar, except this time Pidge was on her stomach snuggled into her pillow and on either side of her face under her wildly untamed hair was a compy, nipping at the offending curls that dared get in their own faces. The last one was on top of her hair, snuggled in the mess of extremely tight curls and sleeping calmly.

The caption read, 'You're a horrible uncle Lance, get your nieces so your sister can take a fucking nap.'

Keith snorted at that and Lance laughed along with him, a buzzing signaling a new notification.

It was a message from Pidge. Lance opened it to reveal another snap from her. It had both her and Hunk, who was waving while Pidge was making a face and doing finger guns with one hand.

'You and your boyfriend get your asses over here, I'm bored and Hunk wants hugs.'

There was an awkward silence where both couldn't look at each other directly after the message was viewed. But if they had they would have seen that the other's face was just as red as their own.

"Well, uh...guess we better get over there huh?" Keith said softly, pulling himself away from Lance, who nodded, already feeling cold even in this climate without Keith there beside him.

"Yeah, guess so. I'll talk to Hunk about Miss Munchies out front, I don't think she's going to be moving anytime soon." Lance said quietly.

Keith nodded, starting to leave, he stopped when he realized Lance wasn't following.

"You coming or...?"

"Yeah, yeah I'll be right out, don't worry your mullet over it dude."

Keith just rolled his eyes, leaving to wait for Lance in the jeep.

Once Keith had left Lance actually moved, walking with a limp back to his room to retrieve his pain killers.

Without even looking having done this so many times before he took the cap off and popped two of the pills in his mouth, pocketing the container before rushing back out, Keith honking the horn to get Lance to hurry.

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming mullet hold your horses!" Lance yelled, hiding a wince as another sharp burst of pain spread down his backside.

Today was going to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going to work on more Mer au fics since I'm in the mood, I'll try and get another chapter of this up soon though.


	4. Hot Shivers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stay home if you're not feeling well kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has nothing to do with this chapter and will probably make more sense in the next one hut I'm basing Keith and Lance's relationship on the facts that they might've met in high school, had some rivalry bullshit going on, the whole shebang and are at a place where they still fight but they do care about each other and it's mostly just friendly banter at this point.
> 
> AKA their canon relationship.

"Anything else going on that I need to know about?" Lance asked.

The dirt road was riddled with potholes, jostling Lance enough that he had to bite his tongue to keep from crying out when his scars flared up in pain, the medication took too long to kick in. Usually he would take it before he actually got out of bed, that way by the time he did get up the pain would be somewhat bearable.

He ignored the pain, focusing instead on the passing trees that blurred into a long stretch of green.

"I visited with Hunk's family for a week and his moms have adopted me as their own."

"Yeah they do that with all the misfits, welcome to the club."

They both laughed at that, trailing off into silence as the sea came into view, the only sounds of the waves below and the radio delving into a form in between static and music through the wind.

They made it to the back of the main building, Keith parking the jeep before hopping out, Lance following right after as they entered through the back door of the labs.

The air was more chilled here than anywhere else and both men shivered at the temperature drop, goose bumps appearing all over their arms.

The sound of excited chatter reached them when they entered the first lab room. Two girls were conversing among themselves, one more animated than the other as they poured over papers and notes on one of the lab tables. Computer screens glowing blue as pictures were displayed of different dinosaur's and more complex math formulas than what Lance had ever seen.

The chatter paused as the two men were noticed and before Lance could blink he had an armful of excited girl, hair mushed under his chin.

"You're back!"

"Yeah Plaxum I'm back, I thought Pidge told you?" Lance questioned, separating the excited girl from her exuberant hug, her eyes shining as she looked at one of her closest friends after so long, pushing her glasses back onto her face after it had been knocked into disarray.

"Pidge likes to leave out the important details apparently, I'll have to have a talk with them later."

While they had been talking Florona had approached Lance on his right side. She placed a small kiss to his cheek, smiling warmly at him.

"It's nice to see you again Lance, it's been pretty dull without you here and I think Plaxum was about to go crazy if she went any longer without our usual lunch dates."

"Was not!"

"You were stop trying to deny it."

Plaxum pouted, going back to her lab table to finish up the last reports on the latest test and research.

"Better go give her some hugs and kisses before she cries Flo, you know how she gets." Lance suggested.

Florona sighed, "Don't I know it, well see you later Lance , I hope you take us up on our lunch date offer, it always stands with you. And thanks for dropping by when you're not bleeding for once Keith."

With a natural flourish she left them to themselves, the two men walking through the rest of the lab to reach the lobby elevator straight to the control room.

"What did she mean by the whole bleeding thing?"

"Shiro sends me down there if I get a scrape or more, even when it's not that serious." Keith answered, shifting from foot to foot as the elevator continued it's ascent.

"A tooth through the hand is not a scrape Keith, and would you two hurry up and kiss already? This is like the perfect scenario for it and you're wasting a perfectly good rom com cliche." A voice over the intercom said, or specifically Pidge's voice.

"First of all that sort of cliche is mostly in chick flicks so get your cliche culture right. Second you better hope that was worth it." Lance said, even as his face turned a flustered red.

Keith put his face in his hand, looking fed up but actually trying to hide the bright red that had blossomed over his cheeks and down his neck as well.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Pidge asked, a certain level of mirth in her voice.

"Oh I dunno, withhold the care package of goodies that Hunk's moms made for all of us?" Lance retorted, smirking when the sound of a crash and muffled curses sounded out over the intercom.

"You wouldn't dare?" Pidge said disbelief evident, yet a nervousness shook her voice as well.

"Wouldn't I?"

"Fuck, fine you win this round. Do you happen to have it with you?"

"No it's in the back of the jeep downstairs."

"Then why are you still here?" Pidge asked.

Lance rolled his eyes, "Fine Bossy pants, I'll drop Keith off and go back down to get your precious snacks." He mocked.

"Don't even play Lance, you know damn well Hunk's moms' cooking is worth starting a war over."

"Oh my god I know"

Keith rolled his eyes, getting out of the elevator as it stopped, Lance pressing the button for the ground floor and catching the keys Keith threw to him.

"Don't get lost idiot."

"Oh haha, that's very funny Mr. I lost Shiro in the gift shop and spent 5 hours looking for him."  
  
"You promised never to speak of that ever again."

"Whatever Mullet."

The elevators doors closed and Lance was left with his own thoughts and the elevator music playing renditions of songs 8-bit renditions, courtesy of Pidge.

The elevator dinged and Lance left it, dodging laughing kids and tired parents along the way.

He went through the labs again, passing both Florona and Plaxum with a wave.

Plaxum barely looked up, but Florona answered his greeting with a small wave back, eyes returning to her work right after.

Lance opened the door to a wave of heat, already missing the air conditioning of the building he just left.

The walk to the jeep was slower than what he desired, his limp and pain more pronounced now than it was hours before. He stared at the keys and then the open top jeep that had no side windows whatsoever, shaking his head as he pocketed them and opened the door to grab at the bag of care packages he had gathered from everyone's family in the mainland.

As he was fixing to lift it a sharp pain, almost like a knife, cut through his whole body. Starting from the back of his legs and flashing up to his neck, a heavy migraine forming within a minute.

He sat down on the cushioned back seat, breathing heavily and trying not to panic. He had dealt with these "moments" before. And this likely wouldn't be the last.

The heat wasn't making it any better, hot and oppressive as it was. His clothes stuck to his skin with sweat and...when did it get cold?

He was shivering now, which shouldn't have been happening in the first place since it was ninety degrees out already and still climbing.

After a few minutes, maybe more he couldn't tell, there were voices, how many he didn't know, and hands on his face. With gloves on and... did he really not notice that he still wore those?

Everything went dark after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, I'll have more dinosaurs next chapter if I can find a way to fit them in.
> 
> We shall see.
> 
> If there's anything you guys want me to touch on let me know.


	5. Cool Cuddles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get a smidgen of a backstory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the pining boys.

Lance awoke slowly to a dark room, pleasantly cool, air blowing over him and causing goose bumps to rise on his skin as he laid on unusually soft sheets.

He sat up slowly, the memory of sharp pains in his back and head still fresh in his mind.

Now that he wasn't wracked with pains all over he took in his surroundings. A quick observation told him what he needed to know fairly quickly. He was in one of the private med bay rooms on the island, separate from the park for faculty and staff that worked there. That explained the soft sheets

Lance slowly laid back down, relaxing a bit now that he had a better take on his current situation. A look to his right gave him view of a short table with a cup of ice chips, and some crackers. Not in the mood to eat he reached for it, startling find cords and other small medical instruments attached to his arm.

Not thinking right he removed them one by one, startling when a long continuous beep sounded. He didn't think much of it at the time other than how it was annoying as he reached for the cup of ice chips, drinking down the water from some of the melted chips and crunching on the rest one at a time.

He nearly got heart attack when the door to his room slammed open and a barrage of people came in a panic.

Lance just stared at all his friends and the doctors and nurses that hadn't been quick enough to stop them from coming inside.

He went back to eating his ice chips, paying no mind to the incredulous expressions on their faces as he did so.

"What?" Lance questioned, crunching on the last of his ice.

"Can someone get me more ice?" He asked, holding out his cup towards the group, hoping someone would take it and refill it for him.

The room erupted into noise, each person trying to talk to him while talking over the others, Hunk ran over to hug him and Lance had a Pidge in his lap trying to get her hugs in too and apparently they were trying to kill him as well no matter how good their intentions were.

"Okay can you guys just, tone it down a bit? I can't breathe." Lance muttered, taking a breath when he was finally released. Pidge migrated from his lap to his side, completely ignoring the doctor's warning that she needed to jot be up there with him. Lance brushed the doctor off, saying he was fine and she wasn't doing any harm, lifting an arm over her to lay it down her back.

He used his other hand to grab his cup of ice chips- refilled courtesy of Hunk- and ate a few more pieces, ignoring Pidge's pokes to his face as he crunched on the ice.

"What happened?" Lance finally asked, putting down his ice chips to let the nurse replace the monitor on his finger, checking his vitals in the process.

Florona spoke up and answered him. "Keith went to look for you after you didn't come back for nearly half an hour and found you passed out in the jeep and brought you in the labs, Plaxum had a freak out and wouldn't stop panicking but I got her to get you stabilized while I called for help. You gave everyone quite a scare there sweetheart. Seems like the meds you take don't react well to high temperatures in this sort of climate."

"Uh-huh, I was the one freaking out. Please, what I was doing was nothing compared to what K-oomph!" Plaxum gasped, air leaving her very body as Florona elbowed her in the gut.

"Plaxum's not feeling well! I guess all this excitement has made her sick to the stomach, I'll take her to the cafeteria for some juice, anyone want some? No? Okay then, come on Plaxum let's go get your juice!" Florona said, voice sounding sickeningly sweet and rushed as she grabbed Plaxum's arm with a near bruising grip, dragging the other girl out of the room and leaving the others puzzled. Or at least a few...only Lance really.

"What was that about?" He asked, everyone's voices dissolving into a mass noise of feigned uncertainty.

"How are you feeling Lance?" Allura asked, a smile on her face even amidst the worry she obviously had for him. Her hair was still flawless as ever apart from a few stray strands, shirt only slightly wrinkled, she only looked slightly frazzled from all of this, which was still worrying in itself. Her hands felt warm against his as she held them, rubbing a thumb gently on the top of his left hand.

"I'm fine Allura really, just a bit tired and hot and not the good hot either unfortunately." He joked, giving her a toothy grin. She gave her own smile in return, likely reassured by his joking manner that he was going to be okay.

***

Lance was returned home later that night, the doctor only letting him go at Allura's influence, convincing him that him and everyone involved would be better off if Lance just got his way and got to stay in his own bed instead of staying at the hospital overnight.

He quietly watched the scenery go by in a blur as Allura drove them to his house, the car ride blanketed in a somewhat tense silence, but otherwise comfortable like it should be between close friends.

Once again they arrived at his house, Allura helping him to the porch at her own insistence, refusing to let him go on his own even when he insisted he didn't need her help. He thanked her anyways and they parted with only a short hug, Lance going inside to try and get something to eat before planning on heading to bed. The house seemed rather empty without any personal effects littered about. He'd have to talk to Allura about getting some things for it later this week if his body would allow.

He made it to his room upstairs, grimacing at having to bend his leg every step of the way, the action causing his scars to throb painfully. His new meds wouldn't arrive from the mainland until next week, so he had a lot of painful days ahead.

Wonderful.

He made it to his room without incident, changing into some sweats and forgoing a shirt as he settled into bed, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV to a random cartoon channel. He tried to zone out the noise enough to fall asleep, get his brain in some sort of numb or sleepy enough state to rest. But it seemed the lingering pain all up and down the right side of his body thought otherwise, flaring up at different intervals and making it impossible to ignore.

So instead he laid there, blanket wrapped around him to keep off the chill. The air conditioner had likely turned on earlier, something he was grateful for as he thought about the hot and muggy temperature outside.

He grabbed his phone and glanced at the time, groaning when it was now past midnight. He had a few options if he wanted to sleep tonight. Suffer through the pain and hope to fall asleep at least an hour before he was due to start his day or...

He glanced at his phone again, finger hovering over the contacts button. Another sharp twinge helped.him decide to click on it, bringing up the list of friends, family, and work numbers. His attention went to one number he knew whose owner was more than likely awake and without hesitation he sent them a text.

 

LanceyLance: u awake?

...

Mullet: yea

Mullet: can't sleep?

LanceyLance: yea

LanceyLance: need u

Mullet: b right there

 

Lance sighed as he leaned his head back against the headboard, eyes mindlessly looking at the TV screen as he waited for Keith, a grimace passing over his face as his right side throbbed with a dull yet pounding ache. The sound of tires on gravel snapped him out of his thoughts and distracted him long enough from the pain to realize Keith had arrived. A buzz from his phone prompting him to look at the newest message in the screen.

 

Mullet: can I come in?

Lance rolled his eyes as he smiled to himself, moving his fingers over the keys to answer.

LanceyLance: no I told you to come over so you could suffer in the heat

Mullet: rude

LanceyLance: u have a key just let urself in

Mullet: gotta ask

 

Such a gentleman.

Their relationship was...something.

When Lance had first been injured, he'd refused to stay in a hospital bed, opting instead to stay in bed at home, especially after finding out he'd been there for a week in a medically induced coma by then. The only one who could have regularly checked on him and who they could afford to let off at random times int he day was Keith. And during that time they had gotten closer and less restricted in terms of physical affection, privately at least. It wasn't like they were dating and no one needed any more ammunition to throw at them both while working.

Especially Pidge.

But even after all of that Lance still called Keith sometimes to help with the pain. Usually just being there and knowing there was someone there to help was enough and Keith was more than willing to help in whatever way he could. Which made hiding Lance's own feelings and keeping them at bay was a lot harder as well.

He heard the sound of the front door opening and closing, steps on the stairs, and his own door opening. Looking over and finding Keith in the doorway, hair mussed and clothes wrinkled like he had just gotten out of bed with them on. Lance wrinkled his nose as he realized he was still dressed in his day clothes and with a nod towards his dresser he spoke. "There's a spare pair of sweatpants and shirt in the third drawer, take a shower and change. You can't wear day clothes in bed, that defeats the purpose of everything comfortable known to mankind."

Keith just rolled his eyes but obeyed nonetheless, used to how Lance did things, grabbing the sweatpants and heading to the shower.

Lance waited patiently for.him, eyes looking over the blobs of color supposed to make up cartoon characters on the screen. He moved to get more.comfortable, hissing when more plane flared up in a angry, red hot flash. This week was going to be just great.

Keith came back a few minutes later, slipping on the bed next to Lance on his left side. Lance wasted no time in settling against Keith's right side, head on his shoulder.

"Does it hurt anymore than usual?" He asked him. Lance shook his head.

"Usually I'm on the meds enough that the usual is pain free." He explained, knowing even without looking that Keith had a frown on his face.

"That's not healthy, depending on the pills like this."

Lance sighed, "I know but...when I know the scars are there I remember."

"Do you want to forget?" Keith asked softly, genuinely curious. There was a pause before Lance spoke up again, voice soft as he answered.

"...if only for a little while." He finally spoke, ending the conversation there, closing his eyes and finally settling enough into Keith's fresh warmth to fall asleep, breaths getting even and slow as he fell deeper into his doze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be dinosaurs next chapter, promise.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just gonna post this now just to say I started it, because I feel like I've prolonged it long enough. Plus with the apparent Allura is a teenager mess I've had to change some parts of it.
> 
> So expect the next chapter in a week I guess? If I have time.


End file.
